Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Abstract: S. L. Washburn papers contain correspondence, writings, research notes, lectures, speeches, field notes, biographical information
and photographs relating to his career in physical anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. Correspondence
is mainly professional with colleagues at Berkeley, in the United States, and abroad. Prominent correspondents include Irven
Devore, Phyllis C. Jay, L.S.B. Leakey, and the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. Washburn's writings relate
to his expertise in and teaching of evolution, as well as documenting his role in education. Field notes relate to primate
anatomy and canine teeth. U.C. Berkeley courses are reflected in syllabi, reading lists and lecture notes. Subject files document
Washburn's participation in conferences, including speeches and programs, as well as professional activities with the National
Science Foundation. Also includes biographical information, research photographs and negatives, and other illustrations and
tables.

Languages Represented:
English

Information for Researchers

Access

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft
Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which
must also be obtained by the reader.

Professor (Chairman 1967-1968), Anthropology Department, University of California at Berkeley

1959

Field work in East Africa

1960

Awarded the Viking Fund Medal

1963

Membership in the National Academy of Sciences

1965

Awarded Ciba Foundation Medal

1967

Awarded Huxley Medal, Royal Anthropological Society, Great Britain

1969

Appointed to Stanford University Board of Trustees

1975

Awarded title of University Professor

1978-present

University Professor Emeritus, University of California at Berkeley

1979

Awarded Berkeley Citation, University of California, Berkeley

1981

Laboratories for undergraduate Physical Anthropology at University of California, Berkeley named the Sherwood L. Washburn
Laboratories

1985

Henrietta Washburn died March 5

1990

Teaching Center in Valley Life Sciences Building, University of California, named the Sherwood Washburn Teaching Center

Scope and Content

The S. L. Washburn Papers contain professional and personal correspondence, writings, research notes, lectures, speeches,
field notes, biographical information and photographs. Some of the collection dates back more than 50 years and illustrates
the breadth and evolution of not only physical anthropology as a discipline, but specifically Dr. Washburn's illustrious and
lengthy career in anthropology. Virtually all of the professional and academic material included is from Dr. Washburn's tenure
at the University of California, Berkeley.

Series 1, General Correspondence comprises a large part of the collection and is primarily professional in nature. Interdepartmental
memoranda and letters to and from colleagues within the domestic and international anthropology community, and correspondence
with publishers form the bulk of this series. Prominent correspondents include Irven Devore, Phyllis C. Jay, L. S. B. Leakey,
and the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research.

The Writing Series illuminates Dr. Washburn's expertise on evolution and his passion for teaching it, as embodied in "The
Fun of Human Evolution!" Other pieces, such as "Why Schools?," demonstrate Dr. Washburn's role as an administrator and his
contributions to the educational system as a whole. Series 2 contains papers he prepared for lectures, talks and speeches,
such as "Behavior and the Origin of Man," the Huxley Lecture. Also included is a draft of an unpublished book entitled
The Human Past.

Series 3, Field Notes, contains material on primate anatomy, canine teeth and measurements. Included in this series are eight
oversize folders containing notes from Washburn's field work from 1939-1940. The series comprises a very small part of the
collection. It provides measurements of various species and a brief glimpse of hard physical anthropological data.

Series 4 is a straightforward compilation of U. C. Berkeley courses taught by Washburn, ranging from Anthropology 1 to 200,
and an interdisciplinary human sociobiology course. The material includes class syllabi, reading lists, and transcribed lecture
notes.

Series 5, Subject Files, is divided into two subseries, conferences and professional activities. The first subseries, Conferences,
contains speeches given by Dr. Washburn and literature and programs about many of the symposia. This is a particularly interesting
section because it highlights Washburn's international reach and reputation. It is highly detailed at some points within this
subseries, as illustrated by the verbatim transcriptions of the Wenner-Gren Conference on "Primate Social Behavior." The second
subseries, Professional Activities, pertains to Washburn's work with the National Science Foundation, specifically its teaching
project. In addition, there are detailed chronological listings of his public appearances and dates of publications.

Series 6, Biographical Information, chronicles Washburn's career through certificates, honors, interviews, newspaper clippings
and documentation of his trips to East and South Africirca

Finally, Series 7 consists primarily of research photographs, negatives, illustrations and instructional charts and tables.
The series contains research photographs of primates, in the wild, at a research center and dissected, as well as animals,
landscape, people and conferences.

Container List

Cartons1-2

SERIES 1: GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE, 1947-1996, undated

Scope and Content Note

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent.

Contains personal and business letters, postcards, telegrams and memoranda.

Carton 6 is arranged alphabetically by subject of photographs. Boxes 1-2 house 4x5 negatives and various sizes of positives.
Many of the negatives in these boxes have matching positives immediately following them. Boxes 3-4 are 8x10 and 5x7 negatives,
respectively. Box 5 houses large photographs, sketches, illustrations and charts.

The majority of the photographs are black and white. Often one image is replicated in many formats: negatives and large, medium
and small sized prints.